Randomised clinical trial: Effect of administering platelet-rich fibrin to autologous fat tissue in injection laryngoplasty for vocal cord paralysis

The vocal cord in humans is essential in producing voice used in communication and interaction between us. Vocal cord paralysis causes dysphonia, which interferes with communication, causing disruptions towards social activity and daily activities. One of the managements for vocal cord paralysis is medialization and augmentation of the vocal cord through injection laryngoplasty. Autologous fat is one of the best fillers used in this procedure, but it is highly absorbable and can be reabsorbed very quickly when injected into body tissues. Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) is a biomaterial consisting of growth factors that are thought to improve fat tissue viability by increasing adipogenesis and angiogenesis. Improvement in fat viability will improve clinical outcomes after the laryngoplasty procedure, potentially reducing the number of repeated injections needed to achieve a satisfactory resolution to vocal cord paralysis. The study evaluates a combination of PRF and autologous microlobular fat compared with autologous microlobular fat alone on laryngoplasty. This single-blinded randomised control trial recruit a total of 18 patients, which are then randomised into the treatment and control groups. The evaluation was done via computerized acoustic analysis/Multidimensional Voice Program (MDVP) parameters and maximum phonation time. The MDVP results and maximum phonation time in both groups showed clinical improvement after the operation with no statistically significant differences. •PRF and PRP are platelet-derived products commonly used tissue engineering procedure.•PRF is an enhanced version of PRP believed to have superior growth factor release quality.•Microlobular fat containing adipose stem cell is used as filler in injection laryngoplasty for medialization of vocal cord.•This study observed combination of PRF and autologous microlobular fat filler for injection laryngoplasty.•The MDVP results and maximum phonation time showed clinical improvement after the injection laryngoplasty.